A woman who previously dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a Politico report released Monday, leading prominent supporters to pull their endorsements and throwing a must-win race for the party into turmoil.
Platner denied the allegation, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we’re taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” he said in a video released on social media.
Jenny Racicot, who lives in Maine, told Politico that Platner entered her home in 2021 while drunk and assaulted her. Racicot said she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner, but she cut off contact with him after that night and told him the incident wasn’t consensual. A voicemail left at a number listed for Racicot seeking comment did not receive an immediate response.
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email and phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” Platner said in his video.
Still, the allegation sparked a flight away from a candidate who has long been controversial. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who’d stood by Platner even as the insurgent candidate was hit with prior allegations, said Monday’s was enough. “I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
Edit: holy shit, these comments are insane.
Regardless of what you believe with this, Platner likely cannot win anymore. He has a week to do the right thing and drop out before he’s fully locked in. If he actually gives any sort of a shit (and doesn’t just want power, like rapists seeking office tend to), he needs to drop out yesterday.
This is the nail in the coffin for his campaign. It’s not time to defend him no matter what, because there’s still a week where a new candidate can be put into place. Instead of being mad at people not wanting to vote for him, you should start vocally supporting another candidate.
If Platner wants to defend himself publicly on this, and/or keep running, and/or sue the accuser for libel, he’s free to do any or all of that. As anyone who’s been around for a few cycles know, its pretty common for candidates and other public figures, when they first reach a certain terminal level of attention or fame, to get a wide range of accusations on business, personal matters, drug use, and past sexual behavior. Just because these appear to be conveniently timed politically, is not evidence for or against their veracity. If there is no actual juice to these accusations, then dealing with people who lob bombs like that into the middle of campaigns is a well-worn playbook that thousands of politicians have run and won with, and he’ll be fine. If.
There are no criminal charges because no prosecutor would waste time and money on allegations with no evidence, and delayed for 5 years.
Another aspect as to why this is different is because it’s so well substantiated. It’s like… Textbook. There’s so little to argue with.
The previous claims against him had none of that, and came from his direct opposition. That is suspicious. These claims are not.
You don’t find the timing suspicious? JFC, you guys are as delusional as MAGA.
She warned multiple other women and has proof way before he even started his campaign
What proof. Why did she wait 5 years.
Very much with the “if.” I’d rather not add more logs to the everlasting bonfire of “women ignored for political expediency.” If it is fake, then handle it like a normal person instead of self-destructing.